From our Pastor’s Desk

Dear Family:

We are back to the Ordinary Time and on this Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Church reminds us of our call from God. This call can be understood in two ways; first, through God’s covenant with Israel. God chose and called us to be his people. Second, through Jesus Christ the new covenant, God called us to be his disciples. So, God made us his people and reconciled us in Christ Jesus. God called us, each by name, to be a people consecrated to him.

In today’s first reading, we heard the first part of our call. This reading tells us about one of the most famous covenants of God with his people in the Old Testament, the Sinai Covenant. Through it, God makes Israel his people and offers to guide them toward a great destiny, and his people offer obedience. If the people are faithful to their promise, they will forever be the sacred people, God’s possession. If they fail due to their human destiny, God will not abandon them but will continue to search for them. This is God’s way of acting. Although we fail, God never abandons us. Therefore, the saying is wise: “To err is human; to forgive divine.” As humans, we always fail in our part of our covenant with God. Like the Israelites in the Old Testament, we are quick to say, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” (Exodus 19:8). We are quick to say yes, we believe and will be faithful to our covenant. However, most times, we fail. Despite this, God never abandons us. He continues to be faithful to his covenant.

In today’s second reading, St. Paul reminds us of how God continues to be faithful to us through his only Son, Jesus Christ, for our salvation: “What proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.” Through the sacrifice of Christ, we are constantly reconciled with God. So, God never abandons us because he chose and called us to be his people. St Paul underlines the unconditional quality of God’s loving care for us. God’s love, says Paul, is not like that of people who only love those who deserve it, and who might be prepared to give their lives for those they consider worthy of such a gesture. How different—and infinitely greater—the love of God is, shown by the fact that He sent His Son to die for us while we were still sinners. (Rom 5:8). Paul encourages us not to let ourselves become slaves to our fears and doubts, but to be filled with ‘joyful trust in God’ (Rom 5:11). Just imagine, he says, that if God loved us when we were estranged from him, how much more will he love us now that we have been made citizens of his Kingdom? Our weaknesses and sins can never be stronger than his love. While we may be tempted to give up on him, he will never abandon us.

The second aspect of our calling is to be Christ’s disciples in a world quickly losing life’s meaning, in a world where many feel abandoned, helpless, and hopeless. This call and mission were born from mercy and compassion for a dejected and abandoned world. Hence, today’s gospel tells us, “At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” St. Matthew gives us a lovely picture of the compassion of Jesus for the people he encountered in his ministry. The English expression ‘he felt sorry for them’ (Mt 9:36) does not even come close does to capturing the depth of his feeling for the pain and suffering of the poor and oppressed people whose lives he wanted to transform.

Far from observing the pitiable conditions of the people – ‘harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd’ (Mt 9:36) – with detachment or disinterest, he was moved from the depth of his heart to respond to their plight. He knows that the political leaders and the religious authorities of his time have no real concern for them. Their focus is on maintaining their privileged positions and feathering their own nests, while neglecting the hungry, the sick, and the oppressed of the land. Jesus, in contrast, identifies with his people’s sufferings. His compassion leads him not only to embark on a personal ministry of healing and hope, but also to choose and select twelve disciples to collaborate with him in this mission.

The mission on which Jesus sends his twelve chosen disciples is clearly an extension of his own ministry: ‘Go and proclaim the message: The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons’ (Mt7-8). The demons and illnesses symbolize all that is opposed to human life—physically, mentally, and spiritually. (Mt 9:35) The authority that Jesus confers on the twelve is an authority, not over people, but over evil. It is the liberating power of his word, which can overcome evil and create a new world. As disciples of Jesus, we, too, are called and sent to continue his mission of healing and hope in today’s world.

Therefore, as Christians, each of us has a unique call. By virtue of our baptism, God chose and called each of us by our new name, as he called his twelve apostles today, to help our abandoned world. This is a special call and invitation to lift and save our dejected world from ruins. It is a call to be faithful shepherds to one another. As God and his Son continue to show us mercy and compassion, we must also show mercy to one another, especially to those who have failed or erred in one way or the other.

Today, we celebrate in our nation, Father’s Day. Therefore it is appropriate to mention how great the role of a Father is. We have the perfect example of a Father: our heavenly Father, a man of love, compassion, mercy, authority and wisdom. We should give thanks to God the Father for being the perfect role model for fathers in this world. Also, we must thank our earthy fathers for the love and care they gives us as their children. May the Lord continue to bless them and to shape them into His divine image every day of their lives, until they get to meet Him face to face.

On another subject, a few weeks ago I mentioned that Fr. Michele Sega was arriving to our parish on June 15th. However, he will be arriving to our parish on July 1st instead. He is visiting his family in Verona, Italy and deserves to be with them a little longer. That means you have to put up with me at almost all Masses until his arrival.

Finally, let us remember that we have been consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a nation this past June 11th. May this act of love and devotion provide us with the necessary strength to continue being One Body, One Spirit, One Family!

Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Katharine Drexel, Saint Michael the Archangel, St. José Gregorio Hernández, Pope Saint Pius X, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Charbel, pray for us.

Yours in Christ!
Fr. Omar